紐時賞析／批自家政黨「軟弱」 美民主黨議員籲引進經濟民粹主義

Democrats Demand a New Tack: Economic Populism

美國民主黨改弦更張：經濟民粹主義

A number of frustrated House Democrats who said their party had a “weak and undefined brand” announced Tuesday that they were seeking to form a new group to dig out of their crisis, informally referred to as the New Economic Patriots.

一些失望的民主黨議員稱所屬政黨「軟弱且定位不明」，周二宣布他們正尋求成立一個新團體以擺脫危機，將團體非正式地稱呼為「新經濟愛國者」。

The group is the brainchild of Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, who criticized members of his own party as wimps in a speech on the House floor Tuesday and called for Democrats to channel a “fighting spirit of economic populism” that he argued could lead them out of the political wilderness.

這個團體是民主黨籍賓州聯邦眾議員克里斯．德魯齊奧的心血結晶。他周二在眾院批評自家政黨成員軟弱，並呼籲民主黨人引進「經濟民粹主義的戰鬥精神」，認為這可以帶領他們脫離在野狀態。

“Too many in our party have lost their way, and it’s time to wake the heck up,” Deluzio said, later declaring: “The era of a spineless Democratic Party must end.”

德魯齊奧表示，「我們黨內太多人已經迷失，是時候清醒了」，他之後宣布，「民主黨怯懦的時代必須得結束」。

The answer, he said, was for the party to focus on appealing to working people on economic issues, but it was not immediately clear how his plan was different from what many in the party have already been advocating. Still, Deluzio’s effort is the latest sign that Democrats, relegated to the minority in Washington and desperate to find a more coherent message after their devastating 2024 losses, are still mired in a politically fraught debate about how to move forward.

他說，答案是讓民主黨關注在經濟議題上吸引勞工階級，但目前尚不清楚他的計畫和黨內其他人已經在提倡的有何不同。儘管如此，德魯齊奧付出的努力是民主黨人經歷2024年慘敗後在華府淪為少數黨，急於找到中心思想的最新跡象，同時仍深陷關於如何前進、充滿政治爭議的辯論。

Deluzio has highlighted his status as a young lawmaker who outperformed Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election in a critical district in a key battleground state as he makes the case for why he is the right person to help lead his party out of its funk.

德魯齊奧已經凸顯了自己的地位。他身為一名年輕議員，於2024年選舉中在關鍵戰場州重要選區表現超越了時任副總統賀錦麗，並藉此充分說明自己是協助帶領所屬政黨走出低谷的正確人選。

In an interview, Deluzio said the “progressive” and “moderate” labels did not work anymore given that his entire tattered party needed to be restructured around an economic populist message that he said had been co-opted by the right.

在一次訪談中，德魯齊奧表示，「進步」和「溫和」的標籤已不再有效，整個破爛不堪的政黨需要環繞經濟民粹主義的中心思想進行重組，並表示這個思想已被右派挪用。

“I am not interested in a wimpy Democratic Party,” Deluzio said. “The party for years has put too much stock in avoiding fights, avoiding naming big corporate villains.” It is time for Democrats to turn back to their working-class roots, he said.

德魯齊奧表示，「我對一個懦弱的民主黨不感興趣。這個政黨多年來過於強調以和為貴，避免點名哪些大企業為非作歹」，並說民主黨人現在是時候回歸勞工階級的根基了。

The new group includes a disparate group of Democrats, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, a former chair of the Progressive Caucus, and Rep. Pat Ryan, a moderate New York Democrat from a swing district. The group members who spoke on the House floor notably did not yet include any Democrats who won Trump districts in 2024.

這個新團體涵蓋了民主黨的各路人馬，包括民主黨前國會進步派黨團主席、華盛頓州聯邦眾議員普拉蜜拉．賈亞帕，以及來自搖擺選區的溫和派紐約民主黨聯邦眾議員派特．萊恩。值得注意的一點是，在眾院發言的團體成員並不包括2024年在川普獲勝選區出線的民主黨人。

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【張佑生】

沒有脊梁(spineless)可能真的指身體缺陷，但主要是對缺乏勇氣和決心的批評，有貶義：a bunch of spineless politicians.民主黨的困境是許多在野黨的寫照，想制衡監督，遭當局以「大罷免」伺候，回應軟弱無力。民主黨輸掉白宮和國會兩院多數，陷入political wilderness，沒權勢、沒聲量，好比被流放、遺忘：He has managed to bring his party back to leadership of Congress after years in the wilderness.民主黨明日之星、加州州長紐森，甚至以toxic來描述民主黨的品牌形象。

淪為少數(relegated to the minority)介詞常用to，例如從先發變替補：The team's best player has been relegated to a backup role because of injuries.戰士解甲歸田：Military heroes were relegated to the status of ordinary citizens.

報導用disparate形容新團體。這個字有截然不同，迥然相異的意思，強調不相容、不協調。例如，言論自由最近是很熱門的話題，各方對自由的定義卻是南轅北轍：disparate notions of freedom.從different開始，不同有很多種不同，至少5種。詳參https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disparate